Category: Top Stories

When the clocks strike midnight on New Year’s Eve, France will be under curfew and its citizens plan to celebrate with gourmet food rather than large groups of friends. At an open-air food market in Paris, fishmonger Rachid Bellahreche said orders were coming in smaller than usual, though his patrons were making up for having to downsize with lobster and scallops. “The seafood baskets are a bit smaller. But since they’ll be fewer around the table, people are buying better quality products,” Bellahreche said. France has the highest COVID-19 cases count in Western Europe and the fifth-largest in the world. ... Read more

Budget carrier GoAir on Thursday announced the expansion of its services to the UAE with the launch of new flights to Sharjah from Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, and Kannur. Currently, flights to the UAE are operated under an Air Bubble Agreement since international commercial flights to and from India remain suspended from March 23 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It has flights to Dubai in the UAE. GoAir is commencing scheduled direct flights to and from Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, and Kannur to Sharjah under the Air Bubble Agreement effective January 1, it said in a release. The flight schedule ... Read more

Archaeologists in Pompeii, the city buried in a volcanic eruption in 79 AD, have made the extraordinary find of a frescoed hot food and drinks shop that served up the ancient equivalent of street food to Roman passersby. Known as a termopolium, Latin for hot drinks counter, the shop was discovered in the archaeological park’s Regio V site, which is not yet open the public, and unveiled on Saturday. Traces of nearly 2,000-year-old food were found in some of the deep terra cotta jars containing hot food which the shop keeper lowered into a counter with circular holes. The front ... Read more

Bram Stoker never visited here. And as far as anyone can tell, there are not now and never have been any vampires in residence. So why is Bran Castle, a lovely, 13th-century palace near Brasov in Transylvania, known far and wide as Dracula’s Castle?  Blame a mishmash of expediency, misconception and a yearning to connect in some way with the most notorious character in English fiction.  The conventional wisdom goes like this: Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, basing his vampire count on real-life, 15th-century Romanian nobleman Vlad Tepes (the Impaler), who was infamous for skewering his enemies on stakes.  Tepes lived in Bran Castle, which ... Read more

Emirates enlisted the help of Arsenal, Real Madrid and AC Milan to surprise its most deserving fans and reconnect them with their favourite football clubs. In a year filled with video calls, it was only apt that Emirates set up one last virtual meeting they would never forget. The unassuming fans joined the teleconference thinking they would be recapping the year and sharing their passion for the sport. They got so much more in return as top players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Toni Kroos and Alessio Romagnoli made surprise appearances via video call and gifted them with Emirates flight tickets and ... Read more

Sources confirmed that the Ministry of Tourism and the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), after several postponements are working towards, holding the flagship annual B2B event, India Tourism Mart (ITM), to promote Incredible India, in February 2021. Considering the long Christmas and New Year holidays in the important source markets like Europe, the organizers have decided to shift the event to the mid of February so that more international buyers can participate in the B2B event. Earlier discussions were held to hold the event in a hybrid way in November 2020, and later in January 2021. ... Read more

This year has been one of change, which has altered the tourism and hospitality landscape forever. Health, hygiene, and social distancing have been shaping travel, with reports indicating that over 90 percent of people view health and safety as a key consideration; with over 80 percent of travelers gravitating towards reputed brands for their travel plans. With around 90 percent of people keen to resume travel, more and more travelers have been exploring the myriad beauty of India, leading to a rise in domestic travel. Here are some of the key trends that have carved the path of travel this ... Read more

Tata Group on 29th DEC has announced it would increase its holdings in the Indian-based joint venture with AirAsia from 51% to 84%. AirAsia, owned by Malaysian tycoon Tony Fernandes, has been scaling back its operations during the Covid pandemic. Last week Tata also put in a bid for the country’s struggling national carrier Air India. Tata Group is paying AirAsia around $38m (£28m) for the increased stake in the AirAsia India joint venture which began in 2014. The deal puts the Indian conglomerate firmly in command of the budget carrier. AirAsia has been looking to reduce its cash-burn and ... Read more

Qatar Airways has announced that it will begin incrementally increasing flights to Montréal from 16 January 2021 and operate daily frequencies by 25 February 2021, up from the previously scheduled four weekly frequencies. The Montréal service is operated by Qatar Airways’ state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900 featuring 36 seats in the award-winning Qsuite Business Class and 247 seats in Economy Class. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are delighted to increase our services to Montréal, further enhancing connectivity for our Canadian customers, while offering our passengers traveling to and from North America seamless access to more ... Read more

Impressive, majestic, sublime? Any adjective, no matter how grand, falls short of truly describing the essence of the Colombian Amazon, a destination whose stunning natural diversity is unparalleled. This destination owes its incredible natural resources to the Amazon River, which is the largest river in the world and is home to no less than 860 species of birds, 140 species of amphibians, 85 species of mammals, 147 species of reptiles, and 6,800 species of plants. These factors make traveling to the Amazon a unique opportunity to find and observe the most exotic natural riches in the world. To get the ... Read more

From quaint snow-covered cottages to regal central squares, Britain’s towns and villages have long enjoyed a starring role in festive hits on the silver screen. These charming locations all helped to inspire some of the best-loved festive films, serving up a joyful helping of spectacular landscapes to go with the Christmas turkey.         Shere, Surrey and Cornwell, Oxfordshire – The Holiday Director Nancy Meyers’ hit festive flick The Holiday uses several striking locations to depict the quintessentially English country setting where stars Cameron Diaz and Jude Law find romance. The picturesque Surrey village of Shere provided one ... Read more

All five global regions are represented as the UNWTO SDGs Global Startup Competition reaches its final stages. The competition was launched to identify innovators whose ideas can advance tourism’s contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and attracted more than 10,000 participants from 138 countries. Now, the jury has narrowed the field down to a shortlist of just 60 finalists. This competition is a UNWTO initiative, in collaboration with Wakalua (powered by Globalia), created as part of the collaboration with the United Nations Innovation Network, a common action framework by UN Agencies to develop public-private partnerships to support the SDGs. ... Read more

Egypt has been a healing destination since ancient times thanks to its sunny and dry climate. The desert is ideal for treatments such as sand bathing and therapeutic dips in hot springs. Desert sands have proven qualities that heal arthritis and rheumatic pains. Egypt has rich therapeutic environments that attract people from around the world to enjoy its sand, climate, natural mineral water and sulphuric springs that cure numerous bone, muscle, kidney, skin and stomach diseases. Plan your trip around your needs to mix a healthy balance of sightseeing and relaxation, choose a wellness spa resort. Egyptian spas are located ... Read more

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has awarded its UNWTO.QUEST Certification to Fundació Mallorca Turisme. The award further advances UNWTO’s work to promote and recognize excellence and quality in destination management for the benefit of the whole of the sector. At the same time, it boosts competitiveness in Mallorca, one of Europe’s top destinations, and emphasizes the importance of placing sustainability at the heart of future growth. Fundació Mallorca Turisme, a UNWTO Affiliate Member, becomes the fourth DMO (Destination Management Organization) in the world and the first in Europe to receive the UNWTO.QUEST Certification. The international benchmark was created to enhance ... Read more

Winter is here and with holidays just around the corner, everyone is looking to spend this season with their loved ones. All family members, including four-legged fur babies, are now in for a treat as SeleQtions hotels introduce Pawcations; an offer where guests can have a pet-friendly experience at 13 distinctive hotels across India. Guests can witness their pets enjoy an exciting holiday pawfectly with a host of in-room amenities and outdoor facilities. From pet-friendly bistros to a casual stroll in the lawns, the hotels curate memorable experiences for four-legged guests, just as they would for their pet-parents. For those wanting to ... Read more