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More than 527,000 passengers are expected to arrive and depart through Dublin Airport over the four-day August Bank Holiday weekend, making it one of the busiest weekends of the summer. Passenger numbers are expected to exceed 134,000 on Friday, with 129,000 travelling on Saturday. Sunday will be the busiest day of the weekend, with 136,000 passengers forecast to pass through the airport, before a further 128,000 passengers travel on Bank Holiday Monday. The August Bank Holid

As TIPTO wraps up its Face2Face events for another year, figures reveal a record-breaking number of agents have joined its supplier members at 35 training events during the year. Across the 31 roadshow and four SuperShow events held in Y27, 2,037 agents – TIPTO’s highest ever attendance total – have joined 26 suppliers to boost their knowledge and improve their sales conversions. Year 27 has also seen an increase in homeworkers attending events, who now make up 48% of total a

TUI River Cruises has announced TUI Luzia, the first purpose-built ship for the brand, was floated out in Kladovo, Serbia marking a major construction milestone and the first time the ship has touched water. Scheduled for delivery in June 2027, TUI Luzia will spend her inaugural season sailing itineraries on the Douro Valley in Portugal. “The float out of TUI Luzia marks another significant milestone for TUI River Cruises and our longstanding partnership with Concordia Damen,

The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) is advising Irish holidaymakers travelling in destinations where wildfires are affecting parts of southern Europe - including Spain and south west France - to remain vigilant, follow local authority guidance and stay informed throughout their trip. While the majority of holiday destinations continue to operate as normal, wildfires can develop rapidly and may lead to travel disruption, road closures, evacuations and changes to transpo

As periods of extreme summer heat become an increasingly familiar feature across southern Europe, Irish luxury travel specialist OROKO is seeing growing demand for destinations that offer a cooler, more active alternative to the traditional Mediterranean beach holiday. The shift reflects wider travel trends. Research from the European Travel Commission found that 28% of European holidaymakers are actively considering cooler destinations to avoid extreme summer temperatures. F

Radisson Hotel Group has collaborated with Accenture in launching an AI-powered hotel discovery app in ChatGPT, helping travellers move from trip intent to search, comparison and planning through natural conversation. Available as @RadissonHotels in ChatGPT, the app enables travellers to search for Radisson Hotels properties across over 100 countries, and more than 1,000 hotels through natural conversation. Through starting a new ChatGPT conversation with @RadissonHotels at t

India has established itself as one of the world's fastest-growing Travel & Tourism economies, driven by a thriving domestic market, significant investment in infrastructure, and an extraordinary tourism offering that keeps international visitors staying longer than almost anywhere else in the world. According to new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the country's next opportunity is to build on these achievements by attracting a greater share of intern

Shannon Airport is preparing for a busy August Bank Holiday, with more than 65,000 passengers expected to travel through the airport over the period. This represents an increase of 7% on the passenger numbers for the same period last year. The strong Bank Holiday forecast reflects Shannon Airport's continued growth in 2026. The airport welcomed 1.17 million passengers during the first six months of the year, a 12% increase on the same period in 2025. Growth has been supported

Hilton Hotels has reported a near 4% year-on-year jump in RevPAR (revenue per available room) – a key growth metric for the hotel industry – for the second quarter of this year. The hotel giant’s latest quarterly results also show $482m in net income and adjusted earnings growth of 5% - to $1.05bn. During the period, Hilton approved 42,900 new rooms for development; bringing its development pipeline to 541,300 rooms – a 6% jump, year-on-year. It also added 24,100 new rooms to

Marella Cruises has announced its headline acts for its adults-only themed cruise, ‘Electric Sunsets 80s vs 90s’ including legendary pop star, Tiffany; Martin Kemp; and Claire Richards (from STEPS). The themed cruise will set sail in April 2027 and will be the ultimate music showdown at sea. The legendary pop star, Tiffany, known for her UK number one hit single “I Think We’re Alone Now” will be headlining the themed cruise. Tiffany is best known for setting a record as the y

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has named Saadia Zahidi as its new Director General. Ms Zahidi will officially take over from outgoing IATA chief, Willie Walsh on November 1. Mr Walsh officially leaves the post at the end of July, to take over as CEO of Indian airline IndiGo. Sandrine Le Borgne, IATA’s Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President for Corporate Services, has been appointed Interim Director General for the intervening period. Ms Zahidi s

The Travel Corporation (TTC) Ireland is delighted to announce that, in partnership with ITTN, Zoe Walsh will provide dedicated Business Development support for the Irish travel trade from 1 August 2026. Zoe will lead TTC's travel trade engagement across Ireland, focusing on strengthening relationships with existing agency partners, identifying new commercial opportunities and expanding the market presence of TTC's award-winning portfolio of touring brands, including Costsaver

Avignon has been named the best city in Europe for a Fringe festival trip. The French city ranked first after balancing a large programme of 1,780 shows with warmer weather and relatively affordable dining. The team at Stasher analysed UK and European cities with established Fringe or Fringe-style festivals. Each destination was scored across seven weighted factors: number of shows, festival duration, meal and hotel prices, historical average temperature during the festival d

Fattal Hotel Group, owner and operator of 329 hotels in 22 countries, including the flagship Leonardo Hotels brand, has signed an agreement to acquire The Blakely Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The acquisition marks the company’s first hotel investment in the United States and a significant milestone in its evolution from a leading European hospitality operator into a global hotel group. The acquisition completed on 7th July 2026. Located on West 55th Street between Sixth and Se

IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG) has debuted its luxury Vignette Collection brand in Italy with the opening of The Venice Times Hotel, Vignette Collection, in partnership with Pacini Group. Located in one of the city’s most enviable locations, the 30-room property is now open, and is the latest addition to IHG’s first collection brand underscoring IHG's commitment to strengthening its portfolio in Italy, while leveraging Pacini Group's well-established expertise and presence in the

Emirates has announced cryptocurrency as a payment option for passengers; officially launching Crypto.com Pay™, allowing its customers to use the digital payment solution on the airline’s website and app platforms. Customers with a Crypto.com account booking on emirates.com and the Emirates App can now select Crypto.com Pay™ at checkout, with transactions processed securely and in compliance with UAE regulatory standards. Crypto.com Pay™ is available to eligible UAE residents

The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) has announced details of its flagship Irish Travel Trade Show events for Cork and Dublin next year. Here are the full details... 1. Irish Travel Trade Show Cork Event: Irish Travel Trade Show Cork When: Wednesday 14th April, 2027 Where: The Metropole Hotel, MacCurtain Street, Victorian Quarter, Cork, T23 PX44 Time: Trade Show: 5pm – 7.30pmAfter Show Networking Event: 7.30pm – 10.30pm Who can attend:

Virgin Atlantic has signed a definitive agreement with air taxi producer Joby Aviation to bring the latter's services to the UK. The agreement converts the partnership announced in 2025 into a binding, multi-year commercial framework, establishing Virgin Atlantic as Joby's exclusive airline partner for air taxi services in the UK. The collaboration builds on Joby's existing partnership with Delta Air Lines, which holds a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic, bringing together three b

TUI Blue has announced an expansion from just beach resort destinations into European city break destinations as well; with its first leisure hotels to open in Lisbon and Seville. The expansion marks a significant milestone in the brand's growth strategy and opens a new chapter for TUI Blue beyond its established portfolio of leisure hotels in beach, mountain and resort destinations. TUI Blue Sevilla Suites will become the first TUI Blue hotel to open in a European city. The

Irish-owned bespoke luxury travel company OROKO Travel has appointed TravelMedia.ie as its PR and media representative in the Dublin market. OROKO is a luxury travel company specialising in tailor-made journeys worldwide. Its expert Travel Designers create highly personalised itineraries, drawing on extensive destination knowledge and a network of trusted global partners to deliver seamless and memorable travel experiences.