Latest headlines in Travel News

  • THAI PM MEETS VIRGIN ATLANTIC AHEAD OF INAUGURAL NON-STOP DIRECT FLIGHT TO PHUKET, THAILAND (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 12:48:26)
    Thailand’s Prime Minister, His Excellency Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul met with Dave Geer, Chief Commercial Officer of Virgin Atlantic in London, just weeks before the airline launches its first-ever direct non-stop service to Phuket marking an important new chapter in air connectivity between the UK and Thailand.The meeting took place during the Prime Minister’s visit to London following his attendance at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, as part of a programme of meetings with key UK trade, investment, industry and tourism partners.
  • New hotel reservation analysis raise questions about guest experience and lost revenue opportunities (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 12:46:26)
    Lobby, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform that automates complex booking operations across suppliers of travel, hospitality and experiences, has carried out several analysis of reservation workflows that reveal a consistent pattern and challenge some common assumptions within hospitality.For years, hotels have focused on reducing reservation response times and on increasing conversion rates, as well as operational efficiency. According to Lobby’s analysis, the actual weaknesses in this part of the process are related to information, guest intent and the commercial opportunities lost between request and booking.
  • dnata puts Emirati talent at the centre of its future growth (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 12:42:49)
    dnata, a leading global air and travel services provider, is participating in Ru’ya Careers UAE at Dubai World Trade Centre from 28 to 30 September, highlighting career opportunities for Emirati talent across its diverse operations.dnata continues to invest in attracting, developing and advancing national talent. UAE Nationals hold 111 different roles across the company, from travel services and frontline airport operations to specialist and leadership positions, reflecting the breadth of career paths available within the organisation.
  • Siri Co-Creator to Open New Paris Forum Tackling AI’s Impact on the Traveller Journey (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 12:29:51)
    The world is not moving towards a single artificial intelligence future. The United States, Europe, China, the Middle East and India are developing distinct systems shaped by different approaches to innovation, sovereignty, trust, data and scale. On 28 and 29 October, the Global Resilience Network (GRN) will bring those five pathways into one room at the Global Travel Futures Forum in Paris and test what they mean in practice for the global travel economy.
  • The Stage Observation Deck Shanghai: Takes Asia’s Leading Tourist Attraction Award (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 12:21:33)
    There are cities that reveal themselves slowly, street by street and neighbourhood by neighbourhood, and then there is Shanghai — a city best understood from above. At the 2026 World Travel Awards Asia, Oceania & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony, held yesterday at CROSSROADS Maldives, that elevated perspective took centre stage as The Stage Observation Deck Shanghai was named Asia’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2026.The prestigious award was presented as travel and tourism leaders from across Asia, Oceania and the Indian Ocean gathered in the Maldives for one of the most anticipated nights of the regional tourism calendar. The ceremony, held on 27 September to coincide with World Tourism Day, brought together representatives from more than 40 countries at CROSSROADS Maldives.
  • A MORE SELECTIVE ERA FOR HOSPITALITY INVESTMENT (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 11:00:45)
    As some of the world’s leading figures in hospitality investment prepare to gather at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai tomorrow for Future Hospitality Summit – FHS World 2026, investors have set out their views on the trends and strategies that are shaping the future of hospitality investment.Widely regarded as the Middle East’s leading hospitality investment forum, FHS World will welcome more than 200 investors representing over USD$ 5 trillion in assets under management. Some 25 percent of those investors are attending for the first time, and 40 percent are travelling from outside the GCC.
  • The stage is set for SOTIC 2026 in Guyana (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 10:33:35)
    The Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) State of the Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC) 2026 heads to Georgetown, Guyana from Oct. 5-9 under the theme “Tourism Futures: Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive.”Guyana President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali will deliver the keynote address as tourism leaders, industry partners, researchers, media and students examine the forces shaping Caribbean tourism.
  • Hong Kong International Airport: Where Asia Takes Flight (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 09:28:54)
    There are airports that simply move people from one place to another. And then there are airports that become part of the identity of the city they serve.Hong Kong International Airport belongs firmly in the second category.Set on the island of Chek Lap Kok, on the edge of the South China Sea, Hong Kong International Airport is more than a gateway to one of Asia’s most compelling cities. It is a vast piece of infrastructure, a meeting point for cultures and continents, and an increasingly sophisticated destination in its own right.
  • Oakwood Residence Kapil Hyderabad: A New Way to Stay in India’s City of Technology (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 09:09:16)
    Hyderabad has always been a city of contrasts. Ancient monuments and bustling bazaars sit alongside glass towers, technology campuses and ambitious new developments, while the aromas of biryani and cardamom drift through streets increasingly shaped by India’s global business economy.In the heart of this rapidly evolving city, Oakwood Residence Kapil Hyderabad offers a different interpretation of the hotel stay: one that feels less like checking into a room and more like arriving at a sophisticated temporary home.
  • Hulhule Island Hotel: Where the Maldives Begins (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 09:04:04)
    There is a particular magic to arriving in the Maldives. The aircraft descends towards a necklace of islands scattered across an ocean of extraordinary blue, the horizon seemingly dissolving into sky, sea and sand. For many travellers, however, the first chapter of the holiday is traditionally a hurried one: collect the luggage, find the transfer, board a speedboat or seaplane and begin the journey towards a distant resort.At Hulhule Island Hotel, the journey can slow down almost immediately.
  • Velaa Private Island: Where the Maldives Becomes a World of Its Own (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 08:53:55)
    There are places in the Maldives where luxury is measured in the size of the villa, the length of the infinity pool or the number of metres between your sun lounger and the sea. Then there is Velaa Private Island, where luxury is rather more elusive: the feeling that, for a few precious days, the island exists entirely for you.
  • Inspiring Vacations: Taking the Guesswork Out of Seeing the World (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 08:43:47)
    There is a particular pleasure in handing over the logistics of a journey to someone else. The flights, hotels, transfers, guides and excursions are already arranged; the route has been considered, the timings tested and the experiences chosen. All that remains is to arrive, look out of the window and let the world unfold.For Inspiring Vacations, that philosophy has become the foundation of a rapidly expanding travel business — and one that has now received another significant international accolade.The Melbourne-born, Australian-owned company has been named Oceania’s Leading Tour Operator 2026 at the World Travel Awards Asia, Oceania & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony, held in the Maldives.
  • Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi: Where Island Luxury Reaches Its Most Extravagant Expression (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 08:31:55)
    There are Maldives resorts that offer an escape from the world, and then there are places that seem to create an entirely separate world of their own. Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi belongs firmly in the latter category: a private island sanctuary where impossibly blue water, powder-soft beaches, extraordinary villas and quietly meticulous service combine to create an experience of almost cinematic proportions.That reputation has been recognised once again at the 2026 World Travel Awards Asia, Oceania & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony, with Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi named Indian Ocean’s Leading Luxury Island Resort 2026. It is the sixth consecutive year that the resort has taken the title, having also won from 2021 through 2025.
  • Cactus Tours Madagascar: Discovering the Island Through Local Eyes (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 08:07:32)
    There are few destinations quite like Madagascar. An island separated from Africa for millions of years, it has evolved into a place of extraordinary contrasts: forests alive with lemurs, avenues of ancient baobabs, limestone landscapes that appear almost otherworldly, tropical beaches and mountain ranges stretching towards distant horizons.For travellers, Madagascar can feel like several countries contained within one extraordinary island. The challenge — and the joy — is knowing how to connect its many different experiences into a journey that feels seamless.
  • Baros Maldives: The Art of Living Above the Indian Ocean (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 07:58:33)
    There are few travel experiences more instantly evocative than waking above the water in the Maldives. Beyond the doors of a private villa, the lagoon stretches towards the horizon in impossible shades of blue; below, coral gardens move with the tide, while the only soundtrack is the gentle rhythm of the Indian Ocean.At Baros Maldives, this familiar Maldivian dream has been refined into something more intimate and deeply personal. The resort has been named Indian Ocean’s Leading Water Villa Resort 2026 at the World Travel Awards Asia, Oceania & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony, held at CROSSROADS Maldives on 27 September 2026.
  • Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng: Vietnam’s Extraordinary Kingdom Beneath the Mountains (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 07:49:54)
    There are landscapes that impress from a distance, and then there are those that seem to belong to another world entirely. In central Vietnam, the limestone mountains of Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng National Park rise through dense tropical forest, concealing beneath them a subterranean universe of rivers, chambers and caverns on a scale that can be difficult to comprehend.That extraordinary landscape has once again received international recognition. At the 2026 World Travel Awards Asia, Oceania & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony, held in the Maldives on 27 September, Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng was named Asia’s Leading National Park 2026, while also receiving the title of Vietnam’s Leading Nature Destination 2026.
  • Plaza Premium Lounge Adelaide: A Refined Pause Before the Journey (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 07:40:00)
    Airports are rarely associated with lingering. They are places of departure, of schedules and security queues, of coffee grabbed between gates and the quiet anxiety of watching the departure board. But in Adelaide, there is another way to spend those precious hours before take-off.At Adelaide Airport, Plaza Premium Lounge Adelaide has transformed the pre-flight interlude into something altogether more considered — a place where food, local culture, comfort and thoughtful hospitality come together to create a genuine sense of arrival before the journey has even begun.
  • SO/ Maldives: Where Island Life Meets a New Sense of Style (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 07:14:17)
    There are few places in the world where the line between landscape and luxury is quite so beautifully blurred as the Maldives. Yet amid the archipelago’s extraordinary collection of private islands, SO/ Maldives has carved out a personality of its own — one that is as much about contemporary design, fashion and atmosphere as it is about white sand and turquoise water.That distinctive approach has now received international recognition, with SO/ Maldives crowned Maldives’ Leading Lifestyle Resort 2026 at the 2026 World Travel Awards.
  • Top Middle East leaders - Fernando Eiroa Dubai Holding Entertainment (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 07:12:45)
    Dubai’s tourism offer is increasingly built around reasons to visit as much as places to stay. Fernando Eiroa is responsible for many of those reasons. As chief executive of Dubai Holding Entertainment, he oversees a portfolio that includes Dubai Parks and Resorts, Ain Dubai, The Green Planet Dubai, Coca-Cola Arena, Global Village and The View Palm Jumeirah.Eiroa took the role in 2021 after a career spent inside large-scale leisure businesses. He served as chief executive of Palace Entertainment in the United States and later led Parques Reunidos, one of the world’s largest operators of theme parks, water parks, aquariums and zoological attractions. At Parques Reunidos, he guided the business through an initial public offering and oversaw more than 60 parks across 14 countries.
  • Top Middle East leaders - Ali Sajwani DAMAC Group (Breaking Travel News 2026-09-28 07:09:32)
    Ali Sajwani’s responsibilities at DAMAC Group extend far beyond the operation of hotels. As managing director for operations, finance and hospitality, he works across the systems that turn property development into functioning destinations: capital allocation, construction, service delivery, technology and long-term asset performance.Sajwani has managed those areas since 2017. By July 2026, DAMAC’s hospitality arm operated eight hotels and resorts with 7,186 keys, including DAMAC Maison Distinction, DAMAC Maison Mall Street and DAMAC Maison Aykon City. The portfolio gives the group a direct role in operating the environments it develops, rather than ending its involvement when apartments are sold or buildings are completed.