ITTN’s Carrie Day was out and about visiting agents in Cork city on Wednesday (17 April), ahead of the ITAA’s Irish Travel Trade Show in the Imperial Hotel. You can read more about this wonderful event here. Carrie chatted to Lorraine Chandley of Barters Travelnet about what is hot right now and it’s no surprise to learn that both Mediterranean and Caribbean cruises are high on holidaymakers wish lists, with the various cruise lines offering great value for money. Danielle O’Keeffe in Shandon Travel also remarked that weekend breaks to London are proving very popular at the moment, with Warne ..read more

This summer, offer your clients an exciting Canadian adventure that stars Air Transat and the bustling energy of Toronto. From the vibrant city life to the wide-open stunning landscapes and spectacular Niagara Falls, there really is something for everyone. With Air Transat’s Canada SALE, offering direct return flights from Dublin to Toronto from just €369* per person, now is the best chance to experience it all for less.  Ensure your clients seize this incredible opportunity for an unforgettable Canadian adventure! Air Transat, voted the World’s Best Leisure Airline 2023 for the fifth ti ..read more

Yesterday, suppliers, tour operators, tourist boards and travel agents descended on the People’s Republic for the first stop on the ITAA’s Irish Travel Trade Show, which took place at the historic Imperial Hotel in the city centre. ITTN’s Carrie Day was in attendance to cover this wonderful event, which welcomed agents from the south-east and south-west for a fun filled night of networking, catching up, not to mention some amazing prizes up for grabs! Cork Airport were sponsors of the check-in area, where agents were given sustainable, plastic-free lanyards, and Shannon Airport kindly sponsor ..read more

A record number of people travelled through Ireland’s main airports – on either inbound or outbound flights – last year, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show. Just under 39.2 million people used Irish airports in 2023 – the highest annual number since the CSO began recording the flow back in 2013. The figure was 6.7 million – or 20% – higher than 2022. The total has also fully eclipsed pre-Covid 2019 levels. The CSO figures cover Dublin, Cork, Kerry, Shannon and Ireland West (Knock) airports. Commenting on the data, Damien Lenihan, Statistician in the Agriculture, Transp ..read more

Discover The Palm Beaches (DTPB), the tourism marketing organisation for Palm Beach County in Florida, has created a new resource to help travel professionals learn, sell, engage with, and promote The Palm Beaches.  The Palm Beaches Travel Trade Portal is DTPB’s new online learning platform tailored specifically for travel advisors as the ultimate tool to teach comprehensive insights into “America’s First Resort Destination.” The free online tool is designed to help travel professionals, such as travel advisors and tour operators, better serve their clients while confidently promoting th ..read more

Belfast International Airport handled 1.3 million passengers in the first quarter of this year – marking a year-on-year increase of 30% and a return to 98% of pre-Covid passenger volumes. There were almost 11,00 total aircraft movements at Belfast International from January to March this year, which is an increase of 25% on 2023 figures. Airlines have boosted the range of destinations now on offer – at Belfast International – with seven new routes to start in 2024 as well as increased frequencies on a range of destinations. EasyJet will launch Tunisia and Larnaca with Ryanair and Jet2 having ..read more

Etihad Airways carried more than 1.4 million passengers in March, 43% up on the same month last year, latest figures from the Abu Dhabi-based airline show. The airline’s load factor (a measure of how full an airline’s planes are), in March, was 84%. “In March 2024 we saw a 43% year-on-year growth in customer numbers as we continue our growth strategy,” said Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad Airways. “Our year-to-date passenger figures at 4.3 million are 41% higher than at YTD March 2023. “Our latest seasonal expansion in routes and frequencies has boosted Etihad’s weekly flights by 34%, r ..read more

Travel tech giant Amadeus has extended its long-term relationship with the fast-growing booking platform, Alternative Airlines. The UK-based online travel agency currently deploys a range of flight search and shopping technology including Amadeus’ new solution to source additional low-cost carrier content called Amadeus Air Extension. Additionally, Alternative Airlines will adopt Amadeus Instant Search, which is apre-computed private cache offering an immediate response with up to 250 travel options, as well as Amadeus Virtual Interlining. Amadeus Flight Search solutions are designed to help ..read more

IHG Hotels & Resorts – the owner of the InterContinental and Holiday Inn chains, as well as others – has launched its Vignette Collection hotel brand in the UK. The first property is called The Halyard Liverpool, Vignette Collection and is the first of 12 properties around the world expected to join IHG’s newest luxury and lifestyle brand this year. Further openings this year include Shanghai Snow World Hotel in Budapest and Arabella Beach Hotel in Kuwait. Vignette Collection is a curation of distinct hand-picked hotels, each offering one-of-a-kind stays from boutique townhouses in city c ..read more

Journalists from a number of high-profile Spanish media outlets – including major daily newspapers – have been exploring Northern Ireland, as guests of Tourism Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland.  The journalists – who have a combined reach of millions – flew to Belfast on the direct EasyJet flight from Barcelona. Tourism Ireland’s aim is to shine a spotlight on some of the many great things to see and do in Northern Ireland to potential Spanish holidaymakers – via the articles and content these journalists will share – and to highlight ease of access from Barcelona and Catalonia to Nor ..read more