Picturesque Vilnius, in Lithuania, is set to become the centre of the meetings industry next month, with delegates from over twenty countries visiting the first CONVENE exhibition. Organisers Vilnius Convention Bureau have been inundated with applications for their Hosted Buyer Programme, and all indications are that attendance at the event – on the 13 & 14 February, 2013 – will smash through all targets.

European Cities Marketing released findings from its latest “European Destinations Observatory” produced by MKG Hospitality which indicate a strong performance from key German city hotels in 2012 compared to other key European cities.

Malaysia Airlines today rolled out its first aircraft decorated in the livery of the oneworld alliance – which the flag carrier of Malaysia joins at midnight tonight in one of the most significant steps in its 40-year history.

International tourist arrivals grew by 4% in 2012 to reach 1.035 billion, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Emerging economies (+4.1%) regained the lead over advanced economies (+3.6%), with Asia and the Pacific showing the strongest results. Growth is expected to continue in 2013 only slightly below the 2012 level (+3% to +4%) and in line with UNWTO long term forecast.

The Meeting of the Tourism Ministers from the ASEAN countries and the Travelshow TRAVEX ended last week with success.

Starting today, airberlin is taking off from Berlin to Bucharest and Sofia. From now on, the airline will fly to the capitals of Romania and Bulgaria once a day and hence, continues the expansion of its Eastern European route network from the Berlin hub.