Holiday & Travel

The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) is buoyed by investor interest in the Territory and the wider Caribbean.

Attending the recently concluded annual Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference & Operations Summit (CHICOS) in The Bahamas, USVI Tourism Commissioner Joseph Boschulte was encouraged by the strong sense of hope and optimism that permeated the three-day conference.

Tourism in the Mexican Caribbean “is back,” with hotel occupancy last month sitting at a healthy 59% throughout the state.

This is even more significant considering that current hotel capacity in the region is still at 85% of normal conditions, says Laura Nesteanu, Account Manager, Canada at Global Marketing & Sales, Inc., which represents the Mexican Caribbean in Canada.

As Australia’s borders begin to reopen, Visit Victoria is encouraging Britons to adopt a little penguin from Phillip Island; plant trees to support koalas; protect the Great Southern Reef; save endangered species; and support the state’s Aboriginal culture before coming out to get involved with these inspirational tourism experiences in person.

These activities are all included in the Good Natured Victoria initiative launched today giving international visitors and friends of Victoria the opportunity to collaborate in one of Victoria’s purpose-driven tourism experiences and to help to make a difference before and during their visit.

Leading independent travel company, Travel Counsellors, has experienced a very significant sales boom over the last month. The company’s leisure travel trading figures are now at 127% per cent compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels, recording one of its highest trading weeks in the last couple of years.

Travel Counsellors continues to receive an influx in global new leisure bookings, boosted by the recent removal of the ‘amber’ list and changes to ‘red’ list and the re-opening of the US borders.

Phu Quoc City, Kien Giang Province welcomed the first international tourists to Vietnam in the "new normal" after nearly 2 years frozen due to the COVID pandemic. A Vietjet Air flight brought more than 200 Korean tourists to Phu Quoc to experience a 5-day and 4-night vacation at one-stop-destination Phu Quoc United Centre.

The welcome ceremony was held at Phu Quoc International Airport with the participation of the General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh, Deputy Director of Vietnam Civil Aviation Department Vo Huy Cuong, leaders of Kien Giang Province and ministries, as well as representatives of Vietjet Air, Vinpearl Joint Stock Company and Marketing Highland Travel Company.

On Monday 6th December, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew opens a brand-new Family Kitchen & Shop. Situated next to the interactive Children’s Garden, this multi-sensory new eatery not only offers families a place to eat and drink, but also to engage with the natural world and learn more about where food comes from, discovering the important role which plants and fungi play in all our lives. With a capacity to host up to 250 diners, the restaurant is a space where the wonder of nature combines with an interactive food laboratory.

Torrontés has for sure the blue-and-white flag tattooed on it, and this article tells you which destinations to travel to in order to taste the way it must be sipped. The most homemade white wine, the only one born exclusively in the Argentine territory, awarded with prizes and mentions from around the world and with an unmistakable scent. 

EVA Air has targeted reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, demonstrating its commitment to seriously considering the impacts of climate change. The Taiwan-based airline made its case for sustainability at the 65th annual conference of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), held online and cohosted by EVA Air.

Clay Sun, the airline's president, also encouraged his industry colleagues to fully commit to reopening travel and gradually reinvigorating the airline industry.

A deportation flight from the UK to Jamaica left with just four people on board, the Home Office has said. Several last-minute legal challenges meant 33 people did not board the flight as planned.

Home Secretary Priti Patel claimed that some of them were guilty of crimes such as murder and child sexual offences, adding: “It’s absolutely galling that they had been stopped from being deported. Lawyers for some of those due to be on board said it wasted taxpayers' money.

Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said that Jamaica will later this month start receiving at least 16 flights per week from the United Kingdom, bringing the island back to approximately 100 percent airline seat capacity as the nation’s tourism numbers rebound.

Bartlett is currently in the United Kingdom (UK) with a high-level team from the Ministry of Tourism and the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) participating in the World Travel Market, one of the largest international tourism trade shows in the world.

Birmingham Airport today welcomed a new three times weekly service to Paris Orly with IAG member Airline, Vueling.

Flights will operate each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, offering direct connectivity to this central Paris airport. Flights arrive at Birmingham from Paris Orly at 0720 and depart Birmingham at 0805 using a 220 seat A321 aircraft. This is Vueling’s second destination from Birmingham, complementing its existing service to Barcelona which operates four times weekly.

Travel companies will start ramping up their technology spend next year, reveals research released by WTM and its sister-event Travel Forward.

Some 700 professionals from around the globe contributed to the WTM Industry Report. When asked about tech spending plans for 2022, the response was a net positive with nearly four-in-ten (39%) saying their budget would increase compared with three-in-ten (29%) who are planning to spend less.

The Belfry Hotel & Resort has had another outstanding result at the 28^th annual World Travel Awards after retaining its title as England’s Leading Resort for the 6th consecutive year. The World Travel Awards acknowledge, reward, and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries, and The Belfry Hotel & Resort excelled over some of the country’s finest hotels.

Birmingham Airport has welcomed back the British Airways tailfin as BA CityFlyer launches services to Belfast City.

The schedule provides ten flights a week up to the new year, increasing to 16-weekly in early January.

The remaining seven destinations on the UK red list - Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela - will be removed from Monday.

Passengers returning to England from these destinations will no longer be required to enter hotel quarantine. However, the government confirmed the red list and quarantine hotel policy “remains in place”.

Following a multi-million-dollar transformation, Sandals Resorts International (SRI) has unveiled plans for its completely reimagined all-inclusive resort in Nassau, Bahamas, the all-new Sandals Royal Bahamian.

Designed to celebrate the easy-going spirit of the Bahamas with locally inspired experiences and a thoughtful, modern approach to luxury, the company will reopen their award-winning hotel, spa and private island on January 27th.