Day Headlines in Travel News: 2025-12-18

  • WTTC selects Madrid as new Global Office to boost worldwide travel and tourism (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 16:46:20)
    WTTC has unanimously approved Madrid as its new global office after a strategic review, aiming to strengthen leadership through deeper member engagement, stronger advocacy, better access to global talent, and improved efficiency.
  • Finnair launches flights to Australia in 2026 (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 13:49:06)
    Finland’s national flag carrier, Finnair, has just announced an expansion to its long-haul network, starting flights to Melbourne, Australia from next autumn. The route will be operated daily via Bangkok with an Airbus A350 aircraft. The new route marks a completely new destination for Finnair, connecting Australia directly to Finnair’s extensive network via Finnair’s Helsinki hub.
  • UK bed bug warnings during Christmas travel highlight shift toward certified bed bug-safe hotels (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 13:48:46)
    Following a wave of UK media reports warning of rising bed bug infestations as Christmas travel accelerates, hospitality experts say the coverage highlights a broader, travel-driven reality that hotels can no longer address through one-off responses alone.The warnings come as travel volumes reach historical highs. According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, aviation is on track for the busiest Christmas travel period on record, following a record-breaking summer, significantly increasing the movement of passengers, luggage, and personal belongings across destinations nationwide.
  • Five essentials shaping the future of the Middle East’s hospitality sector (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 13:45:55)
    The era of scaling hospitality businesses simply by counting rooms is over, according to The Bench, organisers of Future Hospitality Summit, which says that the future of hospitality lies in creating integrated ecosystems, lifestyle platforms and purpose-driven destinations.After nearly 1,600 hospitality leaders from more than 70 countries checked in to Dubai for FHS World 2025, it is clear that a new wave of factors is shaping the future of hospitality in the Middle East – and globally – from the rise of non-hospitality brands in real estate to the critical intersection of Artificial Intelligence.
  • WTTC chooses Spanish city of Madrid for new Global Office (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 13:41:20)
    The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) today announced that its Operating Committee has unanimously approved Madrid in Spain as the location for the organisation’s new Global Office, which will help deliver tangible value to members and ignite the sector’s growth potential.
  • Historic Ju 52 and Super Star aircraft completed in Lufthansa Group Hangar One (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 09:46:56)
    Just in time for the start of the anniversary year, the historic aircraft have been completed! The Junkers Ju 52 and Lockheed L-1649A Super Star have now been finally accepted at “Lufthansa Group Hangar One.” This means that the two central exhibits, which will soon be on display in the new conference and visitor center, are now complete. Over the past few months, the aircraft were delivered in individual parts by heavy transporters and have since been reassembled with great attention to detail in their new home near Frankfurt Airport.
  • British Airways January sale takes off with savings on flights and holidays (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 09:08:42)
    British Airways and British Airways Holidays have today launched their January sale, running until 27 January 2026. Customers can kick off the year in style with great discounts on flights and holiday packages to destinations worldwide, perfect for banishing the winter blues.The sale features savings on getaways to some of the most-searched holiday destinations this year and those featured in British Airways Holidays’ recent Travel Trends Report, including New York, Orlando, Dubai, the Maldives and Barbados.
  • Lufthansa Group upgrades Airbus A320 fleet (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 06:44:04)
    For greater efficiency and lower CO₂ emissions: Lufthansa Group is retrofitting its existing Airbus A320 fleet to optimize flight routes. Starting in 2026, 134 Airbus A320s will be equipped with the FANS-C digital communication system. The ADS-C EPP (Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Contract Extended Projected Profile) technology automatically transmits 4D flight path information – i.e., data on position, altitude, direction, and time – to air traffic control in real time. This allows flight routes to be better adapted to actual conditions in the air. The result: more fuel-efficient flight routes, lower CO₂ emissions, and greater punctuality.
  • Riyadh Air and Huawei Sign an MoU to Advance Digital Capabilities for a New Future of Air Travel (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 06:41:57)
    Riyadh Air and Huawei have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which brings together the former’s global growth vision and the latter’s technological expertise to elevate how guests discover, book and experience travel with the Kingdom’s new national carrier.The partners have already explored new opportunities in smart aviation and digital innovation, and this MoU marks the next significant step in the airline’s ambition to become one of the world’s most digitally advanced carriers.
  • British Airways Holidays unveils the travel trends set to shape 2026 (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 06:39:34)
    Wellness culture continues to impact in 2026, with three trends leaning into this overarching movement. Time loses all meaning, with almost 1 in 5 UK travellers ignoring the clock entirely on holiday, choosing to eat, sleep and explore whenever they choose. Meanwhile body-positivity goes global, with 31% of UK adults reporting that body-positive experiences are more socially acceptable now than a decade ago.¹
  • Rare and limited Emirates Skywards Platinum memberships to be auctioned (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 06:37:18)
    The Emirates Airline Foundation and Emirates Auction are partnering for an exclusive online auction to offer special Emirates Skywards membership numbers that come with Platinum tier status benefits valid for up to 20 years. Running from 17 December 2025 until 17 January 2026, bids can be made for special membership numbers with Platinum tier status benefits. The auction will be open to bidders worldwide.
  • Emirates rolls out retrofitted Boeing 777s with Premium Economy to Beirut and Beijing (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 06:35:28)
    Emirates has announced that retrofitted Boeing 777 aircraft featuring Premium Economy will serve flights EK953/954 between Dubai and Beirut from 6 January 2026 and flights EK306/307 between Dubai and Beijing, starting from 1 February 2026. *Beijing becomes the fourth city in the Chinese mainland to receive Emirates’ latest aircraft and next-gen products, while travellers to and from Beirut will experience the airline’s award-winning Premium Economy and new Business Class cabin in 1-2-1 layout for the first time.
  • Peru - The Pinnacle of Holistic Luxury, Where Ancient Rituals Meet Modern Wellness (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 06:31:54)
    With the opening of Fever’s Machu Picchu: Journey to the Lost City in west London and Manchester, intrepid adventurers can find themselves in the awe-inspiring mountain citadel on their doorstep. This free-roam virtual reality adventure was built in collaboration with historians and 3D specialists to ensure that travellers are treated to a historically accurate feast for their eyes. The rising interest in visiting ethereal places, titled ‘Mystic Outlands’, has been declared the biggest travel trend for 2026 by Pinterest, with Millennials and Boomers seeking out mystical destinations like ruins shrouded in mists. Travellers looking to experience this remarkable site and trend in person can expect a sensory experience that provides holistic nourishment for the mind, body, and soul, positioning Peru as a destination tapped into the increasing demands of wellness tourism.
  • VIRGIN ATLANTIC UNVEILS MAJOR INCENTIVE TO REWARD TRAVEL TRADE PARTNERS (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 06:29:41)
    Virgin Atlantic is taking its commitment to the travel trade to new heights, giving one lucky travel agent the chance to win unlimited flights across the airline’s global network for an entire year.Unveiled at the inaugural AIRmazing awards on 10th December, the incentive will run from 6th January to 2nd March 2026. Timed to reward and energise agents during a key trading period, the prize recognises the dedication and expertise of Virgin Atlantic’s invaluable travel trade partners.
  • United Airlines winter holiday travel forecast and festive facts (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 06:24:59)
    UK Travel: United’s passenger bookings from London to the U.S. increased by 9% and from Edinburgh to the U.S. by 73% during the winter holiday travel season (December 18 – January 6) compared to last year. United increased service between London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare from twice daily to three-times daily flights during the winter period.
  • FITUR 2026 to confirm the strength and potential of the UK tourism market (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 06:23:46)
    FITUR 2026, the International Tourism Trade Fair, running from 21 to 25 January at IFEMA MADRID, will highlight the vitality of the UK tourism market and the close relationship it maintains with Spain, a destination to which British travellers give one of the highest ratings in Europe.In 2024, 18.4 million British tourists visited Spain, accounting for 19.6% of the total. By September 2025, arrivals were expected to reach 15.3 million, up 4% year-on-year, with spending projected at €19 billion, according to the Secretary of State for Tourism.
  • The Silent Revolution: How Every Hotel Website is Becoming an Actionable Endpoint for AI (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 06:21:09)
    For decades, the web has been held together by a chaotic and brittle system of custom APIs. This fragmented landscape of bespoke integrations is more than just a developer headache; it is the primary bottleneck preventing the next generation of AI from reaching its potential.How can an intelligent agent act on our behalf when it must first learn a unique, proprietary language for every business on the internet?
  • Marriott International Celebrates 100 Signings for City Express by Marriott in the U.S. and Canada (Breaking Travel News 2025-12-18 06:19:04)
    Marriott International, Inc. today announced it has reached 100 signed agreements for City Express by Marriott properties in the U.S. and Canada. With six properties that have opened so far in 2025, and four more slated to open by the end of the year, this achievement underscores the demand that is fueling the company’s expanding midscale portfolio