Only few weeks ahead of the official launch of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017, set to take place on the 18 of January 2017 in Madrid, Spain, representatives from various tourism industries and beyond have joined UNWTO to support the celebrations of this important event. The United Nations 70th General Assembly has designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. In the context of the universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the International Year aims to support a change in policies, business practices and consumer behavior towards a more sustainable tourism sector that contributes to the SDGs.

The Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) Board has approved plans to create a new European leisure airline group in a joint venture with TUI AG, with a fleet of around 60 aircraft, offering 15 million seats capacity per year, focused on point-to-point flying to connect key European tourist markets. The transaction is subject to approvals by aviation regulatory bodies and anti-trust authorities. The planned transaction includes an agreement for EAG’s subsidiary Etihad Investment Holding Company LLC (Etihad) to acquire the 49.8 per cent share indirectly held by airberlin in its subsidiary airline NIKI Luftfahrt GmbH. At closing of the transaction, Etihad will immediately contribute the share in NIKI to the new European leisure airline group and will not effectively control, or become a majority owner of NIKI. TUI will contribute its subsidiary TUIfly GmbH to the joint venture, including the 14 aircraft currently operated by TUIfly for airberlin under a wet-lease agreement.

The inaugural event will serve as a platform for industry wide knowledge exchange and discussions around legacy creation
Dubai Business Events in collaboration with the BestCities Global Alliance and the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), inaugurated the first ever BestCities Global Forum today. Dubai is proud to host the first event of its kind organised by the global alliance, set to pave the way for future collaboration among the industry. BestCities Global Alliance, a strategic collaboration between 11 of the world’s premier meeting destinations, kicked off the BestCities Global Forum today at the JW Marriot Marquis and will continue until the 7th of December.

Customers and staff herald the launch of the airline’s rebranding, which will provide a more seamless travel experience for all.Dragonair is officially rebranded as Cathay Dragon, bringing the award-winning airline closer to Cathay Pacific in a launch that will provide customers with a more seamless travel experience across the airlines’ respective regional and international networks.At an unveiling ceremony at the newly-named Cathay Dragon House, the airline’s headquarters in Hong Kong, Cathay Dragon Chief Executive Officer Algernon Yau said: “This is a momentous day in the history of Cathay Dragon and I am excited about the future of the airline and the fresh opportunities that our rebranding brings. As we align more closely with Cathay Pacific, new prospects will open up on multiple fronts enabling us to become stronger and thrive in this intensely competitive industry.”

On the heels of another record-breaking year for both cargo and cruise passengers, $33 million in State grants have been allocated to PortMiami over the next five years. This is another important step that will help the Port better respond to the next generation of cruise and cargo business. Approximately 4.98 million cruise passengers sailed through PortMiami, a new world record. The positive performance report comes as PortMiami starts to receive the bigger ships that are already transiting via the expanded Panama Canal.

24th World Travel Monitor® Forum in Pisa: US outbound travel speeds up – Brazil crashes, but upturn expected
Strong dollar boosts US outbound travel – Brazilians cut international trips – ITB Berlin exclusively publishes latest results from the World Travel Monitor®
It has been a year of ups and downs for international travel in the Americas. In North America, the US outbound market is performing very well thanks to the strong dollar. But in South America, Brazilians have cut back on international travel this year amid the country’s economic and political crisis, although the picture could improve next year. Those were some of the results of the 24th World Travel Monitor® Forum in Pisa, Italy (November 3-4).