Category Tourism, Organisations & Operators

Tripadvisor®, the world’s largest travel guidance platform, today announced the launch of its second annual Trendcast report, exploring the trends defining travel this year.

Informed by Tripadvisor’s global insights, the 2026 Trendcast is based on search, booking and behavioral data, along with user generated content from the platform’s more than one billion reviews and contributions.

As andBeyond rapidly expands across Africa, Asia and South America, our Scaling Impact 2030 ambition to help protect more of our world’s irreplaceable places requires a leadership structure designed for global growth, specialist excellence and long-term impact.

The updated structure, effective 01 March 2026, is designed around specialist focus, with dedicated leadership for world-class lodges, camps and yachts, and tailormade tour operations. This allows each area of the business to benefit from deep expertise while remaining fully integrated under the andBeyond brand.

Newmarket Holidays has expanded its India collection for 2026–28 with the launch of three new escorted tours, each offering a unique take on the destination.

Designed to meet growing demand from Newmarket Holidays’ customers for varied, experiential travel, the new tours include a luxury rail journey, a solo-friendly adventure, and an immersive spiritual itinerary, providing agents with fresh opportunities to inspire customers.

Red Sea Holidays today announces a brand new, three-night Cairo holiday add-on to their portfolio, from £499 per person (due to popular demand). Customers travelling to the popular Red Sea destinations of Hurghada and Sharm el Sheikh will now be able to call and book this exciting add-on to any holiday, new or existing.

Spain has written a new chapter in its aerospace history today. Alberto Gutiérrez, founder of Civitatis, has successfully returned to Earth after flying on Blue Origin’s NS-38 mission. With this suborbital flight aboard the New Shepard crew capsule, the businessman officially becomes the fourth Spaniard to reach space, an achievement shared with figures of the stature of Miguel López-Alegría, Pedro Duque, and Jesús Calleja.

Jennifer Matarangas-King was officially sworn in as Commissioner of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Department of Tourism on Thursday, January 15, during a ceremony held at Government House on St. Croix. The ceremony was attended by Governor Albert Bryan Jr., the Matarangas-King family, colleagues, members of the Government House Cabinet, and distinguished guests, including former Commissioners Beverly Nicholson-Doty and Joseph Boschulte, as well as former Assistant Commissioner of Tourism Claire Roker, marking a meaningful moment of continuity and leadership for the Department.

Travel Answers Group, a leading provider of independent vacation experiences, is proud to announce the launch of AlUla and other destinations across Saudi Arabia as a new destination within its Middle East portfolio, in exclusive partnership with Experience AlUla, the official destination management and experience arm of the Royal Commission for AlUla.

Exciting hotel openings, new hiking and biking trails and major cultural moments feature across Gothenburg & West Sweden in 2026 – all with sustainability in mind.

The West Sweden tourist board is unveiling a wave of new openings and experiences for 2026, from boutique hotel expansions and picturesque cycling routes to significant cultural anniversaries and intriguing art festivals.

Specialist tour operator Journey Latin America is delighted to announce a significant rise in demand for holidays to Central America — with Guatemala emerging as one of 2026’s fastest‑growing Central American destinations.

Long beloved by backpackers for its affordability, adventure and culture — from smouldering volcanoes to vibrant chicken buses — Guatemala has traditionally flown under the radar for luxury travellers. That is now rapidly changing as discerning visitors increasingly seek out both its iconic sights and hidden gems. With a surge in demand fuelled by MICHELIN recognition, high‑profile media exposure, and renewed traveller curiosity, Guatemala is stepping confidently into the spotlight.

Las Torres Patagonia in Chile is emerging as a pioneer of ‘wild wellness’, the kind of restoration found through wind, wilderness and authentic natural encounters. Experiences there align with holistic wellness trends for 2026 including social wisdom, elemental spirituality, ping minimalism, soft fascination and living laboratories. From horseback rides with the resident baqueano cowboys to quiet mornings in the biointensive garden, the historic estancia offers guests a chance to retreat into nature amid epic landscapes, living culture and tranquility, in line with the traditional Patagonian saying ‘he who hurries wastes time’.