Holiday & Travel

Turkey, the world's 6th most popular tourist destination attracting 40 million visitors, now aims to take an active role in global health tourism by participating in this growing phenomenon. Turkish Airlines will provide support to Turkey’s public and private sector organizations that provide important components in the health tourism sector. It is a market that has shown significant growth and will become a significant contributor to the nation’s GDP.

Romania’s largest hybrid carrier, Blue Air, will commence flights to Bucharest on the 29^th March 2016 From Birmingham Airport. Operating Boeing 737 aircraft, the carrier will serve the Romanian capital city twice weekly, each Tuesday and Saturday.

The Blue Zebra originated in deep rocky waters of Lake Malawi in Africa and is part of the Cichlid species.  It is also known as the Mbuna Cichlid. The word “Mbuna” means “rock fish”, which refers to its habitat. Blue Zebras can be as small as 2.5cm in length, with larger species approaching nearly 1m in length, a lot closer to than of a real Zebra.

Qatar Airways today unveiled the launch date of yet another exciting Australian destination, with daily non-stop scheduled flights between Doha and Adelaide due to commence on May 2, 2016. The airline has embarked on a major expansion in Australia, just recently announcing the launch of daily flights to Sydney from 1st of March next year.

Patagonia and South America has emerged as the top ultimate dream adventure destination amongst active holidaymakers, the walking and cycling tour operator Macs Adventure has revealed. The tour operator surveyed their extensive customer database and revealed that the top destinations their customers aspired to were Patagonia in South America, Greenland, the Canadian Rockies and Japan – destinations often thought of as inaccessible but made easier to navigate with the help of tour operators like Macs Adventure.

While many people enjoy flying, there's a large - and growing - global group who can't get enough of taking to the skies. Welcome to the world of the Aviation Geek. These are the people who live and breathe all things aviation – the stats, facts and images from their air travels.

October 2015 marks the 10th Anniversary of the Emirates Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth.  Soaring 170 metres above Portsmouth Harbour, the distinctive Tower is the tallest building open to the public outside of London. The three viewing decks offer panoramic 350 degree views over 23 miles of city, country and seascapes including The New Forest, the Hampshire South Downs, the sandy beaches of the Witterings and the picturesque Isle of Wight. 

Sixteen ships and over 30,000 cruise visitors are expected to experience the scenic wonderland of Trinidad and Tobago when the 2015/2016 cruise ship season kicks off in November. As Trinidad and Tobago continues to aggressively pursue the cruise market, the upcoming season, which ends in May 2016, represents a 56 percent increase in cruise passenger arrivals, when compared to the same period last year.

Queen Mary 2’s renowned Queens and Princess Grill suites and restaurants will undergo lavish enhancements in May and June 2016, ascending to a new level of luxury, sharing company with the world’s finest five star hotels. Cunard’s iconic flagship will stay true to her classic art deco heritage, while offering updated, crisp, contemporary interiors painstakingly re-designed for today’s most discerning travellers, and further solidifying the unique position of these distinctively luxurious at-sea accommodations.

Visitors to the Isle of Wight this autumn are being invited to “step into the ghost dimension” - for a limited period only (and only “if they dare”). Timed to coincide with Halloween, and when things have a habit of going bump in the night, the Isle of Wight's new app will be exclusively available to download during October and November only.

In continuation of the promise of “Excellence in Education” under the IHG Academy, the MOU signed between the Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology and Crowne Plaza Today New Delhi Okhla was reinforced in support of tourism. The two institutions participated in IHG Walkathon on September 21, 2015 to support the cause of making India and its tourist destinations clean.

The Islands Of The Bahamas are prepared to prove to NASA Astronaut Scott that the islands are just as beautiful up close as they are from space. This should not be a tough sell since Kelly has been documenting his voyage on social media, sharing images of the Earth from his unique vantage point and has posted about the beauty of The Bahamas on several occasions.

Home to eight percent of the world's biodiversity, Central America's mild temperatures, humid climate and over 400 protected areas make it one of the best places in the world to discover thousands of endemic species, luscious rainforests and stunning coastlines.

Curaçao’s national carrier has announced additional seats into the country for next month’s Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)’s State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC) scheduled for 21 to 23 October at the World Trade Center in Willemstad. InselAir has agreed to add capacity from St. Maarten and Trinidad into Curaçao on Monday 19 October and out of Curaçao on Saturday 24 October in order to facilitate travel for the region’s premier tourism event.

In a year, on September 1, 2016 to be precise, Reunion Island will be experiencing a total eclipse of the sun, lasting for a projected three hours from start to end. The event is due to last from about 12:20 pm local time to about 3:40 pm local time, which is GMT+4. The peak of the darkness is projected to take place around 2:10 pm, a perfect mid-day situation which will allow spectators to get the best sightings in return for their long journey to Reunion Island.

Air France has celebrated 30 years of operating to Paris Charles de Gaulle from Birmingham Airport, over which time the airline has carried more than 1.7 million passengers. The national carrier for France operates almost 2000 flights and carries 225k passengers a year from Birmingham, and has a strong network of onward connectivity from Paris to Nice, Johannesburg, Beijing, Hong Kong, Marseille and Shanghai.