Holiday & Travel

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.

Birmingham Airport and Vueling have announced a new three times weekly service to Paris Orly Airport from the 3^rd November 2021. The IAG member airline will operate services each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, offering direct connectivity to the central Paris airport, ideal for short city breaks or business trips.

A message by Neil Walters, Secretary General of the CTO, in observance of World Tourism Day 2021: The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the region’s tourism development agency, joins the global community in celebrating World Tourism Day 2021 under the theme, Tourism for Inclusive Growth.

In observance of the day, the CTO and approximately a dozen regional and international partners are collaborating on a virtual event aimed at highlighting and addressing the challenges we face in forging a sustainable tourism sector and identifying the opportunities to build a more socially inclusive, sustainable and smart sector.

Qatar Airways has been announced as the ‘Airline of the Year’ by the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax, in addition to securing five additional awards including 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).

For one week only, guests booking a Rhine, Main or Danube river cruise with luxury all-inclusive river cruise specialist, Scenic, will save a guaranteed £1,000 per person. Available on the line’s five most popular European river cruises, the ‘Flash 5 Offer’ applies to new bookings made between 28 September and 5 October 2021 – with prices for river cruises starting from just £1,495 per person.

Qatar Airways is pleased to announce that it will launch scheduled passenger services to Almaty, Kazakhstan starting from 19 November 2021.

The new service will be operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft, featuring 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy Class.

007 fans can indulge in their wonder of the world’s most famous British Secret Service agent on a 3-day London mission departing exclusively from West Midlands. Inspired by the release of the latest Bond movie starring Daniel Craig, The Ultimate James Bond London Experience! is for die hard (oh…that’s another movie) devotees of the charismatic saviour of the world looking for their own license to thrill. 

007 fans can indulge in their wonder of the world’s most famous British Secret Service agent on a 3-day London mission, The Ultimate James Bond London Experience!.

Toureasy, the UK’s first and only carbon neutral coach tour operation has leaked top-secret information of two exclusive tour dates to celebrate the launch of of the latest and last Daniel Craig epic adventure and mark the 60th anniversary (2022) of the first-ever Bond movie, Dr No.

Holiday bookings have surged since the government announced foreign travel rules were being simplified in England.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the travel traffic light system was being replaced with a single red list. And fully vaccinated people will no longer need a pre-departure test before returning from non-red list areas.

As more destinations join the newly-created ‘low-risk’ list on Wednesday following today’s announcement, Travel Counsellors has released its latest booking figures, which crown Spain and Greece as the most popular destinations for both winter 2021/22 and summer 22 holidays. 

Recording its third highest trading week since March 2021 on w/c 6 September, the leading independent travel company continues to receive an influx in global new bookings.