TourBusiness

The Icelandic Tourist Board has withdrawn the travel‑agency licence of Hispana Tours ehf. (licence No 2024‑001, registration No 411223‑0350), effective 10 April 2026, following the company's bankruptcy declared on 19 March 2026.

Consequently, the agency no longer satisfies the conditions for a licence and its membership in the Travel Insurance Fund has been terminated. The company is

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) announces that Allianz Partners has joined its membership as a new industry partner, expanding the council’s network of leading travel and tourism organisations.

Through its membership, Allianz Partners will bring expertise in travel protection, assistance services and digital solutions, supporting WTTC’s work on traveller confidence,

The Cambodia Tourism Board (CTB) has launched the “500 Agents FAM Trip 2026” initiative, which will host five hundred travel agents from around the world during the country’s green season (May – October 2026).

The familiarisation tours are designed to boost Cambodia’s visibility in key overseas markets, turn first‑hand experiences into concrete product concepts, and create lasting

The San Marino Tourism Board, together with USOT – the San Marino Association of Tourism Operators – announces that the deadline to submit applications for the training programme that qualifies participants for an accommodation‑business operating licence is 18:00 on Wednesday, 18 March 2026.

The 16‑hour course is offered free of charge to all existing accommodation operators

On 18 December 2025, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) concluded two Letters of Intent that will create strategic tourism partnerships with the Haikou Municipal Bureau of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports and with Tongcheng Group and its travel subsidiary Tongcheng Travel Holdings.

The ceremonies were held at The Langham Haikou during the China International Travel

The Turkish low‑cost carrier Pegasus announced that it has reached an agreement to purchase the Czech airline Smartwings together with its parent company Czech Airlines. The transaction, valued at €154 million, will be carried out through the investment vehicle Prague City Air.

According to a statement from Pegasus, the ownership change is expected to be completed within the next twelve

Visit Maldives Corporation (VMC) is opening a series of targeted engagement sessions for its industry partners. The aim is to deepen collaboration and jointly develop strategies that will promote tourism in the Maldives.

The sessions will give stakeholders a forum to share observations, raise concerns, and propose ideas that will shape future programmes and increase their impact

A Memorandum of Cooperation aimed at developing spa and wellness tourism in the Danube‑Black Sea region was signed by the Romanian Spa Tourism Employers’ Organisation (OPTBR) and the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and Spa Tourism (BUBSPA) during the Congress of Spa and Wellness Tourism held in the Romanian spa town of Sovata.

The agreement was signed by Nicu Radulescu, chairman

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) together with its members warmly congratulate Shaikha Al Nowais on her official appointment as Secretary‑General of UN Tourism.

This milestone is significant for the global travel and tourism industry. WTTC is confident that Al Nowais’s leadership and vision will help steer the sector toward a prosperous and sustainable future.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO) announced a joint initiative to merge their solutions for passenger ticket taxes, fees and charges (TFC). The aim is to lower costs and provide airlines with a single, reliable source of data for calculating and collecting TFCs.

At present IATA supplies the TFC data, while ATPCO

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is pleased to announce that the Zagreb Tourist Board has become a Destination Partner, further expanding WTTC’s global network of leading destinations committed to sustainable growth and innovation in travel and tourism.

The Zagreb Tourist Board is the official body responsible for promoting Croatia’s capital, Zagreb. Its aim

Visit Maldives Corporation (VMC) has begun an outdoor advertising initiative across central London, timed to increase the Maldives’ brand visibility in the United Kingdom before the World Travel Market (WTM) London 2025, one of the most important international travel trade exhibitions.

The two‑month taxi‑wrapping campaign will see 100 London taxis covered in the Maldives’ signature

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) announced that HiSEAS International has joined its Global Member network, a select group of the most influential travel and tourism organisations worldwide.

The membership was confirmed during the World Travel Market (WTM) in London, underscoring the increasing collaboration between technology‑driven travel providers and the broader

The Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) has concluded a significant partnership with Ethiopian Airlines Group, one of the continent’s largest airline networks. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was formally signed on 2 October 2025 in Addis Ababa by NTB Chief Executive Officer Sebulon C. Chicalu and Ethiopian Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer Mesfin Tasew.

Key areas of cooperation

Albanian and Italian officials met to discuss ways to deepen cooperation in tourism promotion. The meeting was led by Zana Çela, Director General of the National Tourism Agency of Albania, and Marco Alberti, the Italian Ambassador in Tirana, and was attended by representatives of the Italian Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Italian Trade Institute.

The discussion

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomes the United Kingdom’s renewed intention to boost economic growth, improve global connectivity and support trade and tourism through the expansion of Heathrow Airport, the nation’s main hub.

“The government’s long‑term objective of stimulating the economy by widening global connections via a Heathrow expansion is appropriate.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is intensifying its promotional activities toward Singapore and other nearby markets, focusing on high‑value, repeat travellers while positioning Thailand as a sustainable, premium destination. This direction was underscored during TAT’s participation in ITB Asia 2025, the B2B travel exhibition held from 15–17 October at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.

The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Mr Attakorn Sirilatthayakorn, led a senior Thai delegation to Beijing to reinforce the tourism partnership between Thailand and China and to explore new avenues for joint development.

The visit centred on the “Amazing Thailand Networking Dinner” held on 16 October 2025, which brought together senior officials from the Ministry of Tourism and

Minor Hotels continues to deepen its community engagement by extending its global “Dollar for Deeds” initiative to a new partnership with the Ayati Trust in Sri Lanka. The programme, which invites guests to donate one US dollar per night at check‑in, is matched pound‑for‑pound by the group, with proceeds directed to locally chosen charitable projects.

Originally launched in Anantara

Date: 30 September 2025

A new programme, initiated by The Bicester Collection and supported by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), has been launched to place child protection at the centre of the travel industry agenda.

The project, called “Unlock Futures”, targets the prevention of child sexual exploitation and trafficking worldwide. It is endorsed by the UN