Europe

Iceland's Blue Lagoon partially reopens as volcano threat eases

The lagoon, cafe, restaurant, retreat spa, spa restaurant and the on-site Blue Lagoon skincare store have all reopened

Hurtigruten and HX embark on next phase of rebrand

Hurtigruten Group unveils new websites, social channels and visual identities ahead of wave season

'We're always trying to improve our offer to Brits,' says Spain's tourism sec

Rosana Morillo sat down with TTG to discuss Spain’s post-Covid tourism rebound, its ambitions for the UK market, its readiness for new EU border rules – and its plans to capitalise on hosting the 2030 Fifa World Cup

APT to expand trade sales team amid ongoing company-wide recruitment drive

The APT and Travelmarvel brands plan to hire a national sales manager to support its key accounts

ITA Airways to launch London City-Rome services

Route to the Italian capital has not operated since start of the pandemic

Tui River Cruises reveals first new-build ship and Douro entry

Tui River Cruises has commissioned its first new vessel and confirmed plans for a 2025 entry onto Portugal’s River Douro, supported by flight programme

EasyJet holidays continues its expansion into new markets

EasyJet holidays confirms its entry into the package market in France and Germany

AmaWaterways unveils wave campaign after bumper sales year

Every suite reservation will also be upgraded to business class flights as part of the campaign, which launches on 26 December.

UK managing director Jamie Loizou said the river line’s latest wave campaign “is designed to appeal to luxury travellers”, adding that offers would make it easier for travel agents to sell its products.

AmaWaterways’ UK team has reported record 2023 booking levels and a 78% spike in the number of UK travel agencies booking its river cruises. Bookings are up 46% versus the same period in 2019.

Rail tour operator insists older travellers are 'driving the green agenda' amid bookings boom

Ffestiniog Travel, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2024, reported EU rail tickets sales were up 56% compared to 2022

Advantage boss confident current strong booking levels 'to continue into 2024'

Bookings departing between 18 and 28 December are up 44% year-on-year, according to Advantage’s chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said

British Airways to restart scheduled services from Stansted next year

British Airways will reinstate scheduled flights from Stansted next summer following a five-year absence

TV's Amar Latif's tour operator launches new multi-sensory holiday programme

HF Holidays announced a partnership with blind TV personality and adventurer Amar Latif OBE in October ahead of the programme’s launch

EasyJet puts autumn 2024 and half-term flights on sale

EasyJet reveals its autumn 2024 flight schedule of 68,000 flights across its network

Ryanair to launch flights from Norwich next summer

Budget carrier will offer routes to Alicante, Faro and Malta

City break goals: making Amsterdam toddler-friendly

For the culture-starved parents of a problematic napper, could a city break by Eurostar prove the perfect solution?

Explore to trial e-bike only departures on select 2024 cycling tours

The brand said e-bikes allowed couples and groups with varying levels of fitness to join the same tours without worrying about managing longer distances

Thomson and Tui veteran David Burling to step down after 34 years

David Burling joined Thomson Holidays as a graduate trainee in 1990 and served as managing director of Tui UK and Ireland from 2011 to 2015

8 easy ways you and your clients can help preserve and protect Mallorca

The Mallorca Tourism Board is inviting agents to sign its new, eight-point Mallorca Responsible Tourism Pledge

Paris placed on terror alert after tourist killed near Eiffel Tower

Paris authorities have urged people to avoid the area near the Eiffel Tower

Brits ready to take multiple holidays next year and up their spend

Nearly six in 10 Brits will look to book at least three holidays next year, according to Luxury Escapes, with popular extravagances including flight and room upgrades, and fine dining

Meet the Spanish icon celebrating its 40th anniversary

As it celebrates 40 years of its iconic logo, Spain reminds the world of its longstanding appeal that continues to make it such a popular destination today

The travel trends and buzzwords agents can't afford to ignore next year

Who are Generation T? What’s the deal with ’shoulder shoppers’? And how do you court ’sustainability selectors’? Abta sought to demystify a number of emerging markets at its Travel Trends conference this week – here’s what agents need to know

EU to strengthen rights of passengers who book through agents

Other proposals include more protection for multi-modal journeys and automatic refunds for unused vouchers

Jet2 trade chief urges agents not to forget about the lates market during peaks

’Lates is the best marketing tool – clients are in the frame of mind to book,’ Alan Cross told TTG at the Jet2holidays conference in Antalya