Intrepid Travel has launched an emergency appeal and committed $100,000 AUD through their not-for-profit, the Intrepid Foundation, to support immediate relief, aid, and rescue efforts in Turkey (the preferred name now is Türkiye) and Syria following the devastating earthquake. Intrepid Travel has further committed to donating all profits from bookings made on trips in Türkiye until April 30, 2023, to support the appeal. The Intrepid Foundation has partnered with Australian Red Cross to ensure funds are effectively allocated to provide immediate and longer-term relief to communities affected by the earthquakes. This will enable Red Cross and Red Crescent partners to Read more
Turkey
U.S. airlines expect strong travel demand that drove record fourth-quarter revenues to continue into 2023, but economic uncertainty and burgeoning labor and operations costs could cloud their rosy outlooks, Reuters reports. JetBlue Airways, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines last week all forecasted full-year earnings that were better than expected, the agency said, adding that “airlines are cashing in as consumers snap up tickets following a pandemic-induced slump.” HOLLAND AMERICA SETS WAVE SEASON RECORD In an early sign of a successful Wave season, Holland America Line bookings in the third week of January were the highest on record for any January Read more
At the World Travel Market in London this week ForwardKeys has announced the performance of the top global destinations of 2022 by publishing an annual Most Visited Destinations report that is available in hard copy at the event and to download at the bottom of this page. The top country list is headed by the Dominican Republic, and the top city list by Antalya in Turkey. Between 1st January and 18th October (the latest available air ticketing data), the Dominican Republic welcomed 5% more visitors than it did in 2019. It is followed by Turkey and Costa Rica and Mexico, Read more
The United Nations’ World Tourism Organization has issued a list of the countries with the most visitors for 2021. It was, admittedly, a difficult year for tourism. But the stats paint an interesting picture. Given the state of COVID and the restrictions around travel throughout most of Asia, you’ll notice that there are no Asian countries on the list. TOP TOURISM DESTINATIONS IN 2021 10. Hungary, 7.9 million visitors 9. Croatia, 10.6 million 8. Germany, 11.7 million 7. Austria, 12.7 million (I was in Vienna earlier this year and found it fantastic) 6. Greece, 14.7 million 5. United States, 22.1 Read more
Travel executives are betting that this summer will be one of the busiest yet even with soaring inflation as consumers excited to leave home will splurge on vacations – potentially going further afield and venturing back into tourist hot spots For its part, ToursByLocals, the Canadian-based company that connects discerning travellers in search of customized, private tours with handpicked tour guides in 189 countries worldwide, sees “substantial demand” for travel heading into the busy summer season after more than two years of Covid-19 restrictions. “May was an all time record month for us after nearly 14 years in business,” says Read more
