All Travel News

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.

EasyJet has launched a new winter route from Belfast International Airport to Aberdeen International Airport. Flights will take off for the first time on 4 January 2027 and will operate twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays. The new route further strengthens EasyJet’s UK domestic network, offering customers more choice when travelling between Northern Ireland and Scotland, whether for business or leisure. Travellers wishing to explore more of Scotland this winter will find tha

Oceania Cruises is spotlighting the latest round of its acclaimed Wellness Discovery Tours - featuring everything from practicing tai chi in Bangkok, to dance therapy in Colombo, to yoga and wine tasting in Santorini. Responding to a growing interest in wellness experiences, Oceania Cruises offers more than 50 Wellness Discovery Tours in destinations throughout Asia, Europe and South America, as luxury travellers are increasingly seeking journeys that allow them to learn new

Emirates Skywards - the loyalty programme of Emirates and flydubai - is expanding how its global base of members can explore Europe, unlocking access to more than 12,000 rail destinations across the continent with the newly launched Skywards Rail. With access to over 40 major operators across 12 European countries, Emirates Skywards members can now use their Miles to purchase rail tickets seamlessly via the dedicated booking tool www.skywardsrail.com either online or via the

Leading Irish rental provider, Europcar, has launched a new fast-track care rental service at Dublin Airport. Available as an optional upgrade, the new Europcar Express service enables priority in-terminal pick-up allowing customers to simply collect their keys and get on the road without delay. Europcar Express capitalises on the latest digital innovation to carry out the essential identity and driving license checks online when a vehicle booking is made ahead of travel. Com

VIVA Cruises has unveiled a new bespoke AI-powered platform as part of its travel agent toolkit. The ‘AI Travel Advisor’ is now live on the river cruise line’s website and can be accessed by clicking the star symbol located on the right-hand side of the page. Users can input their own specific preferences – such as destination, travel duration, interests, travel style and budget – which the system will use to then suggest suitable available itineraries. Follow-up questions ca

Cork Airport welcomed 342,387 passengers during June, latest monthly operational figures for the airport show. Passenger numbers in June were up 22% when compared to pre-COVID levels (June 2019). Since January 1, the airport has welcomed a total of 1,619,373 passengers which is showing a slight 1% decrease on the previous year – the airport’s busiest year ever. This represents a changing mix in 2026 versus 2025 with more KLM and Air France passengers and less Ryanair passenge

The board of Irish Ferries owner, shipping conglomerate Irish Continental Group (ICG) has tentatively accepted and recommended to shareholders a €1.2bn management-led buyout proposal which would see the business leave the stock market and enter private ownership. The management buyout team consists of long time ICG chief executive, Eamonn Rothwell; along with leading shareholders David Ledwidge, Andrew Sheen and Declan Freeman. ICG owns a number of shipping terminal and freig

Ryanair and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have extended their longstanding collaboration for a further five years. Through this renewed agreement, Ryanair will continue to leverage AWS’s cloud computing and AI technologies, including Amazon Quick, Amazon Bedrock, and Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, across its business, from powering Europe’s largest airline website and optimising schedules across its fleet of 647 aircraft and 3,900 daily flights, to enhancing operational efficiency thr

ITTN’s Zoe travelled to Genoa this week where she had the opportunity to experience EXPLORA III as the ship was officially delivered, marking the halfway milestone in Explora Journeys’ six-ship fleet with three ships now sailing worldwide. EXPLORA III is the first LNG-capable vessel in the fleet, representing the next step in the brand’s environmental strategy and future-ready design and it’s also the most spacious introducing enhanced public areas, expanded wellness and culi

Cassidy Travel has announced that it is recruiting experienced Travel Consultants to join its teams in Dundrum and Swords. The established travel agency, which has a growing team of more than 140 travel experts, is seeking candidates with previous travel industry experience and a strong interest in helping customers plan memorable holidays. Cassidy Travel said the available positions offer successful applicants the opportunity to contribute their experience and ideas while co

AWTE Ireland is reminding women across the travel industry to secure their place at its highly anticipated End of Summer Drinks, taking place on the evening of 20 August at Café en Seine, Dublin, with limited tickets now remaining. For the first time, the annual networking event has been opened up beyond AWTE membership, welcoming all women working in travel who are interested in learning more about the AWTE and becoming part of its growing network. The evening will bring tog

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is pleased to welcome Avolta as a Global Member. Avolta is the global leader at the intersection of travel retail and food & beverage, delivering integrated shopping and dining experiences across airports, motorways, cruise lines, ferries, rail and other high-traffic travel locations in more than 70 countries worldwide. Its mission is to make travelers happier by combining global scale with local relevance, offering products, brands