News

Netherlands’ Tulip Season Draws Travelers with Expert-Led Experiences

Nienke Panis-Ringersma has made a career out of following the region's famous blooms. Here are her favourite ways to experience the season, from road trips to bulb picking. Few images are as indelible as the sight of candy-coloured tulips bursting through the dark winter ground. But in the Netherlands – the world's largest exporter of the magical bloom – venerating tulips is a way of life. In the weeks leading from icy winter to spring, rows of flowers stud the country's landscape in technicolour streaks, most famously in the Bollenstreek "Bulb Region", stretching between the towns of Haarlem and Leiden, arching towards the North Sea. And with tulips come tourists; eager to experience the blooms for themselves.

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Finland Invites Travelers to Experience Happiness with Free Lakeland Trips

Visit Finland is inviting tourists to apply for a seven-day, all-expenses-paid trip this summer, where you’ll sauna bathe, go for dips in the lakes and head on forest walks in a bid to relax like a local. Last month, Visit Sweden announced it was “giving away” private islands (and a week-long stay) in a bid to introduce people to the country’s perspective on freedom and nature. Now the Finnish tourism board is getting in on the action, too, by offering up all-expenses-paid trips where you will learn how to “chill like a Finn”. Pointing to its credentials as the world’s happiest country, Visit Finland has said that a key part of being content in life is regularly resetting and recharging through time spent in nature. Come summer, Finns flock to Europe’s largest lakeland region where they can bathe in saunas at waterside cottages, take cold dips in the lakes themselves, and head on forest walks.

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Japanese Airline Offers Free Domestic Flights for European Travelers

Amid rising overtourism in popular cities such as Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan has introduced a new way of encouraging travel to lesser-visited areas. The Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), along with All Nippon Airways (ANA), is offering free domestic flights across the airline’s entire Japanese regional network to UK and European travellers. The initiative, which will run from 24 November to 31 January 2026, has been introduced to encourage visitors to travel to Japan’s lesser-known regions and ease pressure on crowded destinations like Kyoto and Tokyo. It is part of a “Stopover & Add-on Free Fare” offer, which will allow eligible economy passengers from the UK and Europe to book up to two free domestic flights on an international booking by 31 January. However, the actual departures of these flights can take place anytime after 31 January. It means that whether you are heading to Tokyo or travelling on to Hiroshima, Aomori or the Izu Peninsula, you’ll pay the same airfare. ANA says it allows travellers to build a multi-stop itinerary for no extra cost.

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Maldives to Host World Travel Awards Indian Ocean Gala 2026

Maldives to host World Travel Awards Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony 2026 World Travel Awards (WTA) has announced that the paradise nation of the Maldives will host its Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony 2026, with travel industry leaders from across the region gathering for a prestigious VIP reception on 27 September 2026 to coincide with World Tourism Day. The ceremony heralds the return of the Indian Ocean leg of the World Travel Awards Grand Tour, an annual series of red carpet events hosted in each continent. The decision reflects the strength of the travel and tourism sector in the Maldives and its leadership in the luxury, sustainability and experiential travel domains. With its crystalline lagoons, powder-white beaches and world-renowned overwater bungalows, the Maldives represents the pinnacle of barefoot luxury and remains one of the most aspirational destinations on earth. Graham Cooke, Founder, World Travel Awards, says: “It is an incredible honour to host our Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony 2026 in the Maldives – and what better occasion than World Tourism Day to celebrate the very best of our industry! The Maldives continues to set the global standard for luxury and sustainable tourism, and I look forward to welcoming travel leaders from across the Indian Ocean to experience the extraordinary magic of these remarkable islands.”

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Hong Kong Eyes Comeback as a Top Global Tourism Hub

Hong Kong SAR, China can re-establish itself as a go-to destination for international travellers by investing in key source markets, new World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) research reveals. The WTTC report ‘Travel & Tourism in Hong Kong SAR, China: Recovery, Gaps, and the Road Ahead’ recommends that the city invests in promotion to key source markets globally. In addition, the destination should expand its reach into higher-yield segments and new geographies, specifically targeting mainland cities beyond Guangdong, as well as fast-growing markets in ASEAN, the Middle East, and India. The recommendation is important given the fact that 76% of total inbound visitors to Hong Kong in 2025 came from Mainland China, with only 24% travelling from other global markets. Inbound visitor arrivals for 2025 are forecast to have reached 50.3 million, down 22.9% from the 2018 peak of 65.3 million. Meanwhile, spending from business travellers was set to be 16.8% below 2018 levels owing to the dual shocks of civil unrest in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic the following year. Despite facing challenges, Hong Kong SAR, China’s Travel & Tourism industry is a major contributor to the city’s economy, with WTTC estimating that the sector accounts for US$56.4 billion or 13.6% of its GDP and supported 587,000 jobs in 2025.

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Brazil Crosses 2 Million Tourist Arrivals in Early 2026 Surge

Brazil hosted more than 2.6 million international tourists in the first two months of 2026, with visitors from the United States ranking among the top four source markets worldwide. U.S. visitors during the period totaled 137,699 (over 5% of all foreign visitors). In February alone, Brazil hosted 1,287,800 visitors. The figure marks the second-best result ever recorded for that month and for the first two-month period of the year, placing it among the periods with the highest influx of international visitors to the country, according to data from Embratur, Brazil’s tourism promotion agency, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Federal Police. The total number of arrivals to Brazil in the first two months of the year is 52.9% higher than in the same period of 2024, when 1.7 million tourists visited the country.

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