Air Europa launches first direct flight linking Spain and Honduras

Last night saw the inaugural Air Europa flight take off from Madrid’s Adolfo Suarez Barajas airport to San Pedro Sula – the first of its kind to connect Europe directly with Honduras.

Air Europa UK managing director, Colin Stewart, commented: “We are thrilled about the launch of this new route – our first flight into Central America.

“It’s also a big coup for our group – Globalia – to be the first European airline to run a direct flight from Spain to Honduras, and will offer huge benefits to our passengers.”

The weekly flight to San Pedro Sula will take off from Madrid at 01:35 on Thursdays, arriving at 04:40.

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Etihad goes double daily on A380 Sydney route

Etihad Airways has announced all 14 weekly flights on the popular Abu Dhabi-Sydney route will be operated with its flagship A380 aircraft, effective October 29th.

The current daily A380 Sydney flights will be joined by a second daily superjumbo service, upgraded from a 328-seat Boeing 777-300ER.

The announcement comes as Etihad Airways marks the tenth anniversary of flying to Sydney, its first Australian destination.

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Arabian Travel Market 2017: Qatar Airways flies into Cardiff, Wales

Qatar Airways is to launch a daily flight from Cardiff Airport to its hub in Doha, Qatar, in 2018.

The new service will be the first regular direct long-haul flight linking Wales and south-west England to a major global hub in the Gulf region.

It will allow business and leisure travellers to fly directly from their local airport via Doha to a choice of over 150 destinations across the globe in Asia, Australasia, Africa and the Middle East.

The new service from Cardiff will be the latest addition to a growing network of destinations that Qatar Airways serves across the UK and Ireland.

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Ubud Food Festival

One of the most celebrated new three-day gastronomic events, Ubud Food Festival in Indonesia will spice up your culinary adventure. 

It does not stop at outstanding chefs and innovative cuisine. Ubud Food Festival dishes up on a variety of delicious events, including workshops by food professionals, food tours around the area’s beautiful landscape, cooking demonstrations by culinary icons, and food forums by restaurateurs. As their third year in the gastronomy globe, fresh local produce is always one of the highlights of Ubud Food Festival. Explore endless possibilities with Indonesian ingredients, culinary experts, and naturally, Indonesian traditional dishes. Create your culinary journey with wellknown chef celebrities and diverse food specialists!

12 May 2017 – 14 May 2017

Ubud, Gianyar Regency, Bali

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SAS launches new year round route between Helsinki and Malaga

The new route is served with an Airbus A320 and B737-800, on Saturdays all year round, starting November 4th of 2017. Including the new route, SAS is now offering ten departures to Malaga from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and now also Finland.

Malaga is the gateway to Costa del Sol and the route is an answer to the leisure travelers’ demand on popular destinations.

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Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas premieres first and only resort and spa in Ibiza

Tucked away on the peaceful northern tip of Ibiza is crystalline Cala Xarraca Bay. Located just 30 minutes from the airport, this is the inspiring setting for Six Senses Ibiza, the newest addition to the portfolio of Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas. With its unobstructed westerly sunset views, dramatic rocky beach and picturesque seafront with yacht access, this full-service resort, spa and residential community dances to the beat of a new mantra: transformative wellness to nourish the body, mind and soul.

Chief Executive Officer Neil Jacobs of Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas said, “We’re very excited to open our first resort, spa and residential project in Ibiza, a project that celebrates wellness, sustainability and community spirit. This third European property complements our sister resort in Portugal’s Douro Valley, residential project in Courchevel, France and seven fabulous spas in France, Greece, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.”

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Cologne Bonn connects Germany to Basque Country

Cologne Bonn Airport has announced a significant new route with the confirmation that Ryanair will commence Germany’s first direct link to the Spanish city, Vitoria, from Cologne Bonn.

The Irish ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) will begin the twice-weekly service on 30 October, meaning that Cologne Bonn will operate the only international link from Central Europe to the capital city of Basque Country this winter.

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Greyhound adds stop at Toronto Pearson International Airport

Greyhound announced that it now offers service at a new location in Toronto. Greyhound customers can now conveniently travel to and from the Toronto Pearson International Airport, offering easy access to multiple modes of transportation under one roof.

With more than 20 daily schedules from its location in Terminal 1 at the airport, customers can travel to various Ontario destinations, including Cambridge, Guelph, Hamilton, Kitchener and Niagara Falls, as well as to destinations in the United States such as Chicago and New York, ultimately connecting to Greyhound's extensive network of 3,800 destinations.

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Booking .com's first customer call centre officially opens in Toronto

Booking.com announced the official opening of their first customer call centre in Canada located in Toronto. The newest call centre aims to recruit 200+ people in 2017, with a goal of hiring up to 600 people within the next four to five years.

Booking.com's Toronto call centre is the company's fourth in North America and sixteenth globally. The Toronto customer service team will support Booking.com's award-winning 24/7 service to guests and accommodation partners through a variety of channels, including incoming calls, e-mails and messaging. Booking.com has 7000+ customer service agents globally through its local entities.

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SAS introduces new route to Eilat

SAS opens a direct route between Stockholm and Eilat in Israel. Eilat will be a new route to SAS and is part of the winter program for 2017.

Eilat is a popular city located by the Red Sea on the south coast of Israel. The city offers its visitors white beaches, coral reefs and deserts as well as night life.

A new route between Stockholm and Eilat starts on October 28 as part of SAS’ winter program for 2017/2018, with departures weekly on Saturdays during the period of 28th of October to March 24th 2018.

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KLM to launch non-stop flights to Costa Rica

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is launching direct flights to San José, Costa Rica, twice a week. The operation will commence October 31st, 2017, during the winter season in Europe.

Pieter Elbers, KLM President and CEO, said: “KLM currently brings many passengers to Costa Rica via Panama. The increasing interest of the European market in this beautiful country convinced us to start a direct flight to San José”.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

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Arabian Travel Market 2017: Dubai to welcome largest ever event

Arabian Travel Market, the Middle East’s leading travel industry showcase, opens its doors on Monday April 24th for four days of business networking opportunities, insightful seminar sessions and top level ministerial discussions.

Now in its 24th year, the 2017 edition, which takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre until April 27th, will welcome over 2,600 exhibitors and an expected 30,000 visitors to the largest travel trade event in the Middle East.

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TripAdvisor reaches half a billion reviews and opinions and counting

Rapid growth in user-generated content offers unique opportunities for businesses to engage with global travelers, increase bookings and thrive online.

TripAdvisor announced that it has crossed the 500 million reviews and opinions milestone. The popular travel planning and booking site and app now posts 290 pieces of content every minute of every day. The phenomenal growth in user-generated content has been fueled by travelers' desire to "pay it forward" with insights and advice for millions of other global users.

Most Reviewed Hotel, Restaurant and Attraction on TripAdvisor

- Most reviewed tourist attraction in the world: The Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, has more than 104,000 traveler reviews

- Most reviewed hotel in the world: The Luxor Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, has more than 28,000 traveler reviews

- Most reviewed restaurant in the world: Pasteis de Belem in Lisbon, Portugal, has more than 25,000 traveler reviews

- Most reviewed tourist attraction in the U.S.: Central Park, New York City, has more than 92,000 traveler reviews

- Most reviewed restaurant in the U.S.: Cafe Du Monde, New Orleans, has more than 22,000 traveler reviews

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Iberia unveils new Premium Economy cabin

Iberia has presented its first Airbus A340/600 fitted with its new Premium Economy seating section to travel agencies, major companies, and the media.

Iberia Maintenance will install the new seats on the aircraft already in Iberia’s fleet at its Madrid hangars, while the A350s the airline has on order will come factory-equipped with the new seating section.

This summer, the airline will have five A340/600 equipped with the new cabin.

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Video: Lonely Planet: Spotlight on: East Iceland

Iceland is becoming more and more popular with visitors. Lonely Planet Destination Editor James Smart tells us about a part of the country that's yet to be discovered by mass tourism.

Iceland travel guide

Hitting headlines, topping bucket lists, wooing nature lovers and dazzling increasing numbers of visitors – there seems no end to the talents of this breathtaking northern destination.

Coverage Includes: Planning chapters, Reykjavík, Southwest Iceland, the Golden Circle, West Iceland, The Westfjords, North Iceland, East Iceland, Southeast Iceland, The Highlands, Understand and Survival chapters.

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The best of Bagan temples

Bagan is home to some 4,000 Buddhist temples - here are some of the most exquisite.

Myanmar (Burma) - Bagan & Central Myanmar (Chapter)

The heartland of the Bamar people has been the location of three former Burmese capitals – Bagan, Pyay and Taungoo – as well as the latest surreal one, Nay Pyi Taw. Of this quartet, it’s Bagan with its wondrous vista of pagodas and stupas that’s the star attraction.

Coverage includes: When to Go, Bagan & around, Nyaung U, Old Bagan, Myinkaba, New Bagan (Bagan Myothit), Mt Popa, Salay, Pakokku, Monywa & around, Yangon–Mandalay Highway, Taungoo, Nay Pyi Taw, Meiktila, Yangon–Bagan Highway, Pyay (Prome) & around, Magwe.

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Cathay Pacific to link Manchester to Hong Kong with new flight

Cathay Pacific has announced that it will be bolstering its frequency in the North West by offering daily flights between Manchester and Hong Kong as of December 2017.

Having announced at the end of last year that it would be increasing its current four-times-weekly schedule to five-times-weekly as of June 2nd this year, Cathay Pacific is further increasing the frequency to a daily service to meet growing customer demand in the region.

From June onwards, an A350-900 will replace the Boeing 777-300ER on all flights to Manchester, making it the second Cathay Pacific destination in the UK, after Gatwick, to receive the technologically-advanced aircraft.

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VIDEO: Lonely Planet: Did you know: Great Barrier Reef

Did you know the Great Barrier Reef is the only living structure on Earth visible from space?

Queensland & the Great Barrier Reef travel guide

Let it all hang out in Queensland: Australia’s holiday haven offers beaches, reefs, jungles, cheery locals and a laid-back tropical pace of life.

Coverage includes: Brisbane & around, The Gold Coast, Noosa & the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Island & the Fraser Coast, Capricorn Coast & the Southern Reef Islands, Whitsunday Coast, Townsville to Mission Beach, Cairns & the Daintree Rainforest

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Discover Mexico's secret swimming holes

We dive into the world of cenotes – natural pools formed by collapsing bedrock, found on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.

Mexico travel guide

Palm-fringed beaches, chili-spiced cuisine; steamy jungles, teeming cities; fiesta fireworks, Frida’s angst: Mexico conjures up diverse, vivid dreams. And the reality lives up to the imagining.

Coverage Includes: Planning chapters, Mexico City, Around Mexico City, Veracruz, Yucatán Peninsula, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Central Pacific Coast, Western Central Highlands, Northern Central Highlands, Baja California, Copper Canyon, Northern Mexico, Understand & Survival Guide chapters.

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Just back from: Antarctica

Lonely Planet Destination Editor MaSovaida Morgan travels to the end of the world on an icebreaker ship, getting up close to hordes of penguins.

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VIDEO: Did you know: the history of the bungee jump

A brief history of bungee jumping, from its origins on April Fool's Day, to a becoming worldwide adventure phenomenon.

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Here and now: Moab, Utah

Lonely Planet contributor Greg Benchwick ventures deep into the Utah desert for some serious mountain biking over canyon trails.

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