Belize is the Official Destination host for the new World Travel Sustainability Awards

The finest travel, tourism and hospitality brands in the Middle East have been unveiled at a blockbuster gala ceremony at Atlantis The Royal, Dubai. Tourism royalty convened at Dubai’s hottest new resort for a spectacular evening to celebrate the winners of World Travel Awards 2023.

It feels good to have an overstuffed wallet. At least, that’s what I was saying to myself after a recent flight from Dubai to Frankfurt when the staff asked if I would downgrade my seat from business to premium economy for 800 euros (about US$965). The flight was oversold in business class, and I jumped at the chance.

With its highlands draped in sub-tropical rainforest and its Caribbean coastline cradling the world's second largest barrier reef, Belize is a cornucopia of natural beauty. It’s also at the heart of the ancient Maya kingdom, one of the most influential and established Indigenous societies of Mesoamerica, reaching its peak in 250 to 900 A.D. 

This Saturday, Oct. 14, a “ring of fire” annular eclipse will dim the skies above a narrow ribbon of the Americas, from the western U.S. intoMexico and Central andSouth America, and this event is worth traveling for. Saturday’s spectacle — one of the country’s most hyped astronomical events of 2023 — will be the last annular eclipse to create a ring-of-fire effect above the contiguous U.S. until 2046.

Offering a new option in luxury air travel, business-class-only airline Beond is ready to take off this fall.

Hospitality technology solutions providers WorldVue® and Infrateq have announced they have signed an agreement that will mark the entry of WorldVue’s full tech stack into the EMEA region powered by Infrateq.

It’s not often that traveling off-grid for a vacation actually accomplishes lasting relaxation. For any sense of real remoteness, I’ve long come to terms with the fact that you usually need to sacrifice some luxury: Hiking through silent desert valleys, camping in elephant-adjacent safari tents, and sleeping in jungle-nestled tree houses lit only by candlelight all come to mind as the kinds of places I’ve savored the off-grid experience, but felt there was a mandatory “roughing it” subtext. Often, you have to choose between remoteness and relaxation—but every once in a while you find the rare place that serves you both on a silver platter; that happened for me for the first time recently over a stay at Ambergris Cay, a completely private island located in the southwest Atlantic off the main chain of Turks and Caicos.

This year, Skift Global Forum East will be held at the 5-star, ultra-luxury resort: Atlantis The Royal. We plan to welcome 300+ travel industry professionals and speakers to this iconic venue on December 12-14.

Saudi Arabia wants to write and uphold official “7-star standards” at its upcoming ultra-luxury Sindalah Island. The idea of ‘7-star’ anything dates back to the opening of Dubai’s Burj Al Arab hotel, a distinction that operator Jumeirah has never liked using, nor has the emirate officiated.

United Airlines passengers en route from San Francisco to Tel Aviv endured a 14-hour "flight to nowhere" after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Saturday.

Gulf countries are forming a new “bloc” dedicated to furthering the region’s tourism sector. The much-anticipated ‘GCC zone’ unified visa should be announced by December to tie together the GCC states: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.

As flight technology advances (such as being able to hold more and burn less fuel) and long-haul carriers make improved efforts to provide a more comfortable journey (be that with jet lag–reducing lighting, serving healthier food, and enhancing business-class and economy seats for a more comfortable journey), the longest flights in the world are gradually getting even longer. The lengthiest now connect cities on opposite sides of the globe and are upwards of 17 hours.